Review of The Great Dictator (1940) by Rainer K — 01 Jan 2012
Like great drama can be very funny too, great comedy can/has to tackle serious issues to achieve greatness.
There has never been a more serious issue in the 20th century than Hitler's Nazis and the Holocaust and the high number of bittersweet films which cope with anger and grief caused in this time proves that.
Charlie Chaplin's The Great Dictator was the first one that brought the hilarity in Hitler to audiences around the world and arguably showed them what they wanted to see.
The impact on the depiction of silly dictators in comedies since then is obvious and these grand scenes like the shaving to Brahms' Hungarian Symphony No.5 or the Lohengrin globe dance also left their marks in comedy history.
Chaplin left his familiar silent territory and made a wild mixture of classic Tramp slapstick and hilarious comedic dialogue. Leaving the slapstick sometimes in the background brought a seldom seen subtleness in his gags that I appreciated very well.
A big and silly but nevertheless true allegory. Highly entertaining!
This review of The Great Dictator (1940) was written by Rainer K on 01 Jan 2012.
The Great Dictator has generally received very positive reviews.
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